Living with a roommate can be a very rewarding experience. It can also have some drawbacks if you and your roommate get off on the wrong foot. In college, most freshmen students are required to live in dorms on campus and have no say in choosing their roommates. Later, they may have their pick of roommates as they finish school or when they are out and starting work. Making a roommate relationship work starts with yourself and then getting know your roommate and his or her tastes and dislikes. A roommate contract is also beneficial in any roommate situation because it will list what each thinks is important as well as any rules for the living area.
In college, as freshmen, you are told who your roommate will be and you make the best that you can. You only get to change roommates if you each have irrevocable differences. However, minor differences can easily be cleared up if you both have open minds and want to make the relationship work. Treating one another as you would want to be treated is the biggest thing that you can do. Also, remembering that your roommate may be just as insecure and uncomfortable as you in the beginning, can also help.
After that first year of college, it is easier to live with roommates ? and getting to choose who you want to live with can make the experience even more fun. Living with friends you have already made will be a lot different than when you had lived with a complete stranger the year before. Aside from already knowing you get along, you will more than likely share some of the same classes with your friends, making it easier to study with someone in your own personal environment. Again, though , a roommate agreement could be beneficial and help to avoid any arguments that you and your roommate may have. Just because the two of you get along well as friends, does not mean that you will make great roommates because everyone has different living styles and preferences.
Roommates who also work either work at the same job or met after one rented the apartment and decided that a roommate would be beneficial in helping with rent and other living costs. Co-workers generally have the ability to carpool back and forth to work as well as be compassionate about any problems that may arise at work. Those that work at separate places can have differing work schedules, making it seem like you only share the apartment part time.
All in all, whether you choose your roommate or he or she is chosen for you, reminding yourself to make the best of it can go a long way towards keeping the harmony of the shared living quarters. A roommate contract can also help to lay down ground rules that you will each follow and adhere to, preventing a lot of arguments that are prone to happen. An open line of communication is also best when you are living with someone else so that you can talk about any issues as they come up, rather than ignoring them and letting them worsen.
Just like with any financial solution, when you consolidate college loans, you get both its benefits and disadvantages. Right after graduation, it is advisable to take serious steps and to consider how you can best repay your student loans. By consolidating your student loans, you combine multiple loans into one.
How Student Loan Consolidation Works
The process is very simple. When you borrow a number of student loans from different lenders when you're in school, you might have a hard time keeping up with all the payments. By consolidating loans, all your student loans are combined into one new loan from one lender, at a lower interest rate, and even longer time to repay. Although this might sound enticing, it is best if you consider the benefits as well as the drawbacks so you can make a good decision.
Consolidation During Grace Period
There are two sides to this issue. The good thing about this is that you can receiver a lower consolidation loan interest rate if you consolidate variable-rate Stafford loans during your grace period (six months after you leave school before you start making payments). However, the bad side is that when you start consolidating your loans during grace period, you forfeit the remaining grace period and have to begin making payments on your consolidation loan within 60 days. To solve this, you can consolidate your loans during the later part of your grace period.
Repayment Period Extension
Repayment period can be extended up to 30 years basing on your total education loan debt. This means that your monthly payments will dramatically decrease. If you're having a hard time coming up with the monthly payments, then this will be good for you. However, by stretching your debt over a longer time, you will be paying more interest over the life of your loan. In the end, you'll be paying more for your loan in the long run. That's why it is better if you settle your accounts with the shortest repayment period possible that you can afford. And, there's no penalty for prepayment so you can pay even before the payment is due.
One Payment From One Lender
The obvious advantage of consolidation your loan is that it simplifies your life. You only have to deal with payments to one lender, and is thus less hassling to you. On the downside, you could be giving up some benefits that your current loans provide such as loan cancellation and deferment eligibility.
Think about these things. Those are just some of the things you have to consider before you consolidate college loans. It's up to you to decide if the pros outweigh the cons, or the other way around.
Both Zack Fair & Torrie Cantor are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Zack Fair has sinced written about articles on various topics from Music, Architecture and Family Travel. Zack Fair writes for a community website Getaroomie.com that serves as a